Saucer having cup elevating means



Dec. 16, 1952 T. T. O'BRIEN 2,621,496

SAUCER HAVING cup ELEVATING MEANS Filed March 13, 1951 Patented Dec. 16,1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAUCER HAVING CUP ELEVATING MEANSTennyson T. OBrien, Houston, Tex. I I Application March 13, 1951, SerialNo. 215,244

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in ceramics and is directedparticularly to improvements relating to plates and saucers.

In the use of tea and coilee cups and saucers, and other dishes in whicha liquid carrying receptacle is set, some of the contents of thereceptacle may be spilled into the plate or saucer so that when thereceptacle is lifted drops of liquid will form on the bottom and dripolf, frequently on the user, or on the table or fioor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel means ofavoiding the above described annoying condition by the provision ofrisers or supports formed on the bottom of a dish or saucer, upon whichthe liquid carrying receptacle may be stood, so that the bottom thereofwill not rest in any liquid which may be spilt into the underlying dish.

Another object is the provision of a means as above set forth wherebysuch risers, or supports,

may be readily cleansed and kept sanitary by reason of their beingseparable for cleaning, from the plate or saucer.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not tobe limited to the exact details of construction shown and describedsince obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in top plan of a dish, such as a saucer, showing inassociation therewith an assembly of risers constructed in accordancewith the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of one of the risers.

Figure 4. is a sectional view corresponding to Figure 2, showing anotherembodiment of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing the numeral generallydesignates any conventional type of dish in which a receptacle may beset, such, for example, as a saucer designed to receive a cup, shown indotted outline and designated I2. Such a dish commonly has a central,annular shoulder l4, provided to keep the receptacle l2 from slidingfrom position. Such shoulder is utilized in carrying out the presentinvention.

In accordance with the present invention there are provided fordisposition in an assembly with- 2 in the central area of the dishdefined by the shoulder, a number of risers, each of which is generallydesignated I6. Since they are all of the same form, a description of onewill sufllce for all.

Each riser comprises a fiat arm I1, which is joined at one end to theface of a flat, rectangular head or block l8.

As shown one longitudinal edge I9 is in the same plane as a side edge 20of the head [8, such edge 20 comprising the bottom of the head and theedge I9 comprising. the bottom of the arm.

The arm is perpendicular to the fiat side face of the head, to which itis joined and is positioned midway between the vertical sides 2| of thehead. The top edge 22 of the arm is well below the top edge 23 of thehead. Thus it will be seen that the riser is in the form of a T lyingfiat on the bottom of the saucer, the edge surfaces l9 and 20 formingthe bottom and the back, or outer side, of the head abutting theshoulder [4.

As shown in Figure 1, by disposing a number of the risers within thecircular area defined by the shoulder 14, with the free ends of the armsdirected radially toward the center of the area, a cup may be placed onthe arms, as shown in Figure 2 and will be kept elevated above thesaucer bottom, so that it cannot get in any liquid which may have beenspilled in the saucer.

After using the risers they can be removed from the saucer or plate andthoroughly cleansed. Being removable from the plate, the plate may alsobe cleaned thoroughly as there are no corners or angles which would bediflicult to clean.

Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment wherein the risers are made asan integral part of the dish.

As shown, the dish is designated Illa and the risers are generallydesignated l6a.

In this second embodiment the risers are applied, or fixed, to thematerial of the dish before firing. The elevators have the bottom edgesof the arm Ila and head |8a fixed by the firing operation to the body ofthe dish. Thus the risers become an inseparable part of the dish.

While in the second embodiment the risers are an integral part of thedish, the sanitary features are retained by reason of the fact that allthe corners and angles are rounded so that cleaning is made easy.

I claim:

As a new article of manufacture, a dish having a central circular areadefined by an upstanding shoulder, and a plurality of substantially T-shaped members spaced a, quarter distance apart within said area withthe heads of the members abutting said shoulder and the arms thereofdirected radially toward the center of the area, said members beingformed integrally with the dish, the head and arm parts of each of themembers being fiat and disposed on edge and the head projecting asubstantial distance above its arm and said shoulder.

TENNYSON T. OBRIEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the NumberName Date Swofiord Jan; 20, 1942- Number Name Date Ferguson July 14,1903 Ferguson Dec. 18, 1917 Meyer Sept. 14, 1926 Leuzinger July 29, 1930Laudioina Nov. 11, 1930 Meinecke May 19, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS CountryDate Great Britain Sept. 26, 1899 Germany Nov. 11, 1901 France Jan. 25,1929

